Lib Dems select Perthshire councillor and entrepreneur as Mid Scotland candidate

Scottish Liberal Democrats have today announced that Perthshire councillor and agricultural entrepreneur Claire McLaren will represent the party's list for the Mid Scotland and Fife region at the Scottish Parliament election next May.

Brought up on a generational dairy farm in Perthshire that continues today, Claire is steeped in an agricultural background and has run several Perthshire-based property and retail businesses.

In 2022, Claire was elected as a Liberal Democrat councillor for the Strathtay ward on Perth and Kinross council, taking a seat from the Scottish Conservatives. She has a strong understanding of the role that the agricultural sector plays in countryside management and food production.

As a councillor and candidate, she campaigns on many of the challenges facing rural communities, from a lack of access to local health services to affordable housing and transport.

Claire McLaren said:

“Perthshire is my home, there’s nowhere else in the world quite like it. My roots are here, in agriculture, and my family are all involved in farming. I know the things that make this region tick.

“Mid Scotland and Fife plays a central role in our rural economy and food security. But every day, I see how tough the communities here are finding things, from the uncertainty facing farmers to local health services like GPs and dentists being run into the ground.

“They’re tired of being ignored by the SNP for the past two decades, and they want to see action on the things that matter.

“From getting everyone fast access to health care close to home to backing Scottish agriculture and small businesses, I’m in politics to get things done. I am committed to giving the people of Mid Scotland and Fife the representation they deserve.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said:

“Claire is a passionate advocate for our rural and agricultural communities, and she’s bursting with ideas for how to help them flourish.  

“The SNP have a broken relationship with rural Scotland. Those communities deserve a local champion like Claire who will put her heart and soul into giving them a fair deal, from fixing our health service to delivering for agriculture and local business.

"People in Stirling, Fife, Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire have seen what an impressive job Willie Rennie has done on behalf of his constituents. Like Willie, Claire is all about ending SNP neglect and getting the basics right.

“The people of Mid Scotland and Fife can make that happen next May by putting a cross beside the Scottish Liberal Democrats on the peach regional ballot paper.”